097: The Joseph Smith Papers Project with Morris Thurston

While much has been written about Mormonism’s founding prophet, there has never been a comprehensive edition of the first-hand documents produced by Joseph Smith Jr. (1805–1844), or for him by his scribes. With this in mind, the Historian’s Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has enlisted a team of scholars to locate, annotate and publish The Joseph Smith Papers. The project, which is funded by Larry H. Miller, has received the endorsement of The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The managing editor of the project is Ronald K. Esplin and general editors are Esplin, Richard Bushman and Dean Jessie.

In this episode, we interview Morris Thurston — a Harvard-trained lawyer, and one of the legal editors for the project.